Enclave Measure Rejected Legislators Fail To Ok Annexations

A bill that could have given Delray Beach officials the power to annex the Swap Shop failed to win the approval of local legislators on Thursday because of its broad implications.

Members of the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation said they could not support a bill that gave cities a free hand at annexing enclaves over the objections of people living in those areas.

``This is a blank check to do anything in 2,300 square miles,`` said Rep. Ray Liberti, D-West Palm Beach.

The county proposed the legislation as a way to clean up odd city boundaries and possibly eliminate county pockets located entirely within cities. Officials saw it as a way of improving fire, safety and other services to the areas.

``The intention was to annex areas that stand out as being service problems,`` County Administrator-designate Bob Weisman said after the delegation`s rejection. ``The bill may have read too broad. It could have allowed the annexation of larger areas.``

Delray Beach City Commissioner Bill Andrews and Boynton Beach City Manager Scott Miller spoke in favor of the bill. Generally, enclave residents who oppose annexation do not want the extra burden of city taxes.

Besides the Swap Shop, Andrews said there are still about a half-dozen enclave properties on Federal Highway that have not been annexed into the city because of owner resistance. The city annexed most of its previous enclaves under a 1986 legislative act.

Miller said Boynton Beach has about 10 isolated properties, many near Federal Highway, that it wants to annex. The city has been providing services to the properties on a goodwill basis, he said, but it can no longer afford to do this in the face of budget constraints.

--TURNED DOWN a request from county commissioners to require all the county`s taxing districts to hold a joint public hearing on their budgets after preliminary tax bills are mailed. Commissioners said it was difficult for people to attend all the budget hearings of the different districts.

--AGREED to sponsor a bill that would put special assessments, such as the Solid Waste Authority disposal charge, on preliminary tax bills. County officials said the fees came as a shock to many residents this year when they appeared on the final tax notice.

--SUPPORTED a local bill that would stop taxes targeted for the Childrens` Services Council from being given to community redevelopment agencies. The taxes amount to about $114,000 a year. The bill follows one last year that stopped payments to the redevelopment agencies by the Health Care District.